What th-? Joe Casey on Last Defenders #5

We’ve been keeping an eye on Joe Casey's The Last Defenders
series since shortly after it was just a twinkle in Casey’s eye, so
with the next to last issue hitting this week, it was time to catch up
with the writer once again to talk about just what’s going down in the
issue.

In preparation for this, Joe shipped us over three exclusive pages from
the issue, which show…well, that’s what we’re going to talk to Casey
about.

Newsarama: So we're at the penultimate Last Defenders issue, and what've we got? From the preview pages, Kyle's down - but is he out at this point?

Joe Casey: The great thing about Kyle Richmond... throughout his
entire life, he's almost always down, but he's never out. Over the
course of the series, he's been stripped of everything that means
anything to him. We're really breaking him down to see how resilient he
truly is. He may not be wearing the Nighthawk cape n' cowl ensemble in
this issue, but he's still a hero.

NRAMA: From the pages you're providing, this is Kyle finally
meeting the big bad, in this case, Yandroth. It's Dr. No time, and Kyle
learns what the whole plan is, right? Hey - what is the whole plan?

JC: Yandroth has had his designs on Kyle from the moment he came
into this new quantum awareness trip he's been on since issue #1. The
thing about Yandroth as a villain that makes him cool and weird and
slightly difficult to write is that he's thinking and scheming and
acting on a level that's beyond linear time, far beyond how the rest of
us think. And, as part of his coolness and weirdness, he's clearly
exploiting Kyle to help him take advantage of historical events (or
even influence them) for maximum benefit. As it turns out, Kyle
is/becomes/was much more involved in the overall history of the
Defenders than even he knew.

NRAMA: And the big head shaped thing Kyle lands in front of?

JC: Let's just say that longtime Defenders fans might be
able to recognize this particular location. At least, I hope they do.
It definitely ties in with a specific point in their history.

NRAMA: What's Yandroth talking about when he mentions someone
not being the "True" Defenders? It's a weird tense to be using if he's
taking to Kyle about his team...

JC: Who said he was talking about Kyle's team? Actually, when readers see exactly who he is
talking about, it'll come across as even more incendiary. But y'know
what? I welcome the controversy. Feel free to send your hate mail to
editor Steve Wacker, c/o Marvel Entertainment.

NRAMA: Speaking of controversy - the Squadron Sinister - but they're...green and gross. Are these the originals?

JC: One thing some readers may have forgotten is that Kyle
started out as a super-villain, and the Squadron Sinister was his
original team. And the nature of Yandroth's powers -- coupled with the
nature of this particular location -- make it possible to pull skewed
versions of these classic bad guys from across multiple dimensions. Not
only that, these guys are -- in a strange way -- manifestations of
Kyle's own inner demons. Yes, it's true... the man has inner demons. And we're going to exploit the shit outta' them for the sake of mass entertainment!

NRAMA: Any last teases for this week's #5?

JC: The last page of the issue is really what we've been
building toward for the entire series. Through all the strange lineups
and blind alleys that some readers felt we deliberately led them down
(oaky, okay, it was so very deliberate), Page 22 of this ish and the
entirety of issue #6 is what it's all come down to. No more bullshit.
Once and for all, the Last Defenders are ready to rock out with their
cock out. Or something like that...